As usual, they had it all planned out. Four men, black-clad, very aggressive, organised and well equipped, recently stole £186,000 worth of Rolex watches and gems in a violent smash and grab raid on a jewelers in Altricham, Greater Manchester.

Left traumatised – and bereft of valuable stock – the shop-owner and staff could be forgiven for wondering what had gone wrong. After all, they had planned ahead too – the shop’s security measures had all been in place.

They had a door guard, a fogging system, and – in all likelihood – laminated glass cabinets, too.

Yet all failed, in that the thieves achieved their mission, despite the security, and got away with the goods.

So what did go wrong?

The presence of a guard did not deter the thieves. He was overpowered and the money paid to the security company wasted.

Deploying eventually, the fogging unit did not prevent the theft. Again, money was wasted.

The presence of laminated glass was no barrier or deterrent either – staff were kept at bay long enough for cases to be breached.

Unlike the Medusa foam system, traditional security is failing to either deter thieves, or stop them getting what they want – criminals simply find a way around old measures.

Medusa’s specification is different. The Gorgon’s head logo alone tells criminals they will ultimately be deprived of the valuables, thereby deterring attack.

And should they ignore it, they will discover why insurers and retailers alike increasingly recognise Medusa as the final answer to smash and grab – because an instant and automatic sequence of events (that does not put staff in harms way) militates for one purpose. And that’s to deprive them of their prize.